Red mites in hair! Help eeewwwwww

Hi we cleaned coop today after thinking we had chicken lice and found mites!!!!! We cleaned washed with poultry shield and then powder! I know we have to do it again next week but we were plastered so got home stripped washed clothes straight away and showered but I have long hair although it was tied up I found one on my face this evening and I had showered and washed hair, so I have showered and washed hair again but I'm petrified now I have mites in my hair! What do I do? I don't want to go near the chicks again or clean if I'm going to be infested and have read that these are now living on people and in our homes!!! Any help great fully received

Can't help with removing the mites from your hair , I'm sure a lot of new hen keepers have had the same problem. What I do know is that using a Diatom Slurry will certainly help eliminate lice and mites, after battling redemites in vain for a year with various sprays & powders, it worked for me. Have a search for Diatom Slurry in this forum, may of been originated by Hillfooter. good luck.

I have some Diatomaceous Earth for the mites when my chicks get big enough to be let out. Can i just dust everywhere in their wooden coop and then leave dust in situ (in cracks and crevices etc)? Then will the dust stay active and keep on doing it's job?

Red mites won't live in the hair or attach themselves (like head lice) so a good shampooing will get rid of them - although it may take a couple of goes especially if you have thick hair. If you feel uncomfortable and want extra reassurance, use a headlouse shampoo/treatment with something like permethrin (but I wouldn't bother). If ever you think that you have picked up fleas/lice/mites/etc get undressed in the bath - never in the bedroom!They don't carry diseases so no problem there, but as anything crawling over you is not nice best to assume the hazard and use a head covering and clothing to strip (in the bath) and put into the washing machine straight after "the big chook clean". Use a hot wash as fleas can survive economy temperatures.A good story to tell if you want to get rid of unwelcome visitors.

My chicks are in their new coop and are only 2 weeks old. Should i slurry the inside on the 6th week when i open the doors for the first time? How long does the slurry last to be effective before it needs doing again?

Prod

This post reminded me of when I was a child & the nit nurse came to school Unfortunately for my sister & I we were found to have them. In my mothers wisdom she decided to virtually shave our heads. I cant tell you the shame we felt at school. It wasnt too bad for my sister as she could wear a type of head scarfe but my mother made me wear a home knitted balaclava............. It was August

Slurry is inactive so there is no "shelf-life". It will get worn away by the normal toings and froings so just repeat when you see bare areas start to appear. The problem is finding a slot in the weather when you can wash, dry, apply slurry and let it dry all in one day, so an autumn and spring schedule is probably OK. In truth probably just in spring is fine but have always stuck to twice a year. You can add Ficam as an extra protection for the high risk summer months, or some people use permethrin which is sold as ant powder by stores such as Homebase. I'm experimenting with using a cooking oil paint over clean areas then throwing on the dust. It seems OK, but I can't recommend it yet. If it works then the advantage will be no need for the slurry to dry and the oil will soak into the grain of the wood.Prod - that's awful, poor you. BTW lots of people swear by vinegar as an anti-insect shampoo.

please only use items that are for poultry, we cannot promote things like ant powder as there is no proof that inhaling it will not harm your poultry. Ficam W is for professional use and not for the backyard poultry keeper so please do not promote it on here.If you cannot get your coop dry over winter then when cleaning use a powdered disinfectant like Stalosan F which will dry the coop and then use DE, I use mine as a powder but I know many others use it as a slurry and it does dry fast anyway